Sid Haig Movies

A former circus clown and current raging alcoholic begins his belated struggle for redemption after moving back to his small hometown and being recruited by a childhood friend to help a group of local clowns hone their act and get ready for their first performance under the big top. Seymour Smiles (Sid Haig) has a long history in the circus; his grandfather was famed clown Miles O' Smiles, and his father was the beloved buffoon Sunny Smiles. But these days Seymour isn't feeling so funny, and he's decided to move back to his hometown to drink his life away in solitude. His plans are interrupted, however, when his childhood friend Bob (Richard Riehle) convinces him to whip a local clown squad into shape before the opening night of the surface. These days the spotlight is the one thing that Seymour fears most, but perhaps all he needed to regain his confidence and carry on the family tradition was a gentle push from an old friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Aspiring genre filmmakers and horror fans alike will want to check out director Christopher P. Garetano documentary exploring the colorful world of independent fright cinema. With subjects including Wisconsin-based auteur Mark Borchardt, Las Vegas-based "method director" Ron Atkins, and New York drive-in junkie David Stagnari, Garetano shows how, with a vivid imagination, a dash of innovation, and some staunch determination, even filmmakers who lack adequate funds and resources can create compelling and entertaining horror films. Additional appearances by iconic horror figures Joe Bob Briggs and Herschell Gordon Lewis drive home Garetano's point by highlighting precisely how low-budget horror take the kind of risks needed to keep the genre fresh and exciting. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Filmed in California, copyrighted in Turkey and enacted in Armenian, Forty Days of Musa Dagh is set in the decades following the Russo-Turkish war of 1878. Persecuted by their conquerors, a group of Armenian nationals form a resistance movement. The conquering Ottomans retaliate by committing some of the most egregious forms of genocide ever perpetrated. The bulk of the storyline takes place in 1915, when Armenian Gabriel Bagradian (Kabir Bedi), an officer in the Turkish military, relinquishes his commission and joins the resistance. The film culminates in the courageous defense against the Turks at Fort Musa Dagh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Quincy (Jack Klugman) is the technical advisor on a movie which is dramatizing an infamous murder case involving onetime socialite Victoria Sawyer (Carolyn Jones). Noticing several discrepancies in the script, Quincy begins to doubt that Victoria was guilty of the murder for which she is currently serving in prison; he also fears that the real killer may still be alive and at large. But to prove his findings, he needs the cooperation of Victoria herself--cooperation that the woman absolutely refuses to give. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A piece of made-for-television hack work that suddenly became sort of topical 23 years later, with the attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Evening in Byzantium was a two-part made-for-TV feature based very loosely on Irwin Shaw's best-seller. The book involved intrigue and romance at the Cannes Film Festival, but the television producers evidently thought that this did not justify a two-night prime time movie event, so they added a story about Middle Eastern terrorists using the Cannes Film Festival as part of a larger plot to attack the West. Glenn Ford plays Jesse Craig, a down-on-his-luck producer with a film project in mind involving terrorists, who goes to Cannes to raise money and finds himself dealing with his ex-wife (Shirley Jones) and romancing Erin Gray. But before too long, he uncovers a plot by real terrorists to replace commercial airliners in flight (blowing them out of the sky and taking over their authorized flight paths) with specially converted airliners and bomb targets in the United States. Also on hand is Vince Edwards, playing an actor with a radical political agenda, who is alarmed that Ford's proposed film parallels his own terrorist plans; Michael Cole as Ford's associate; Eddie Albert and Gloria De Haven as a couple with ties to the movie business; Harry Guardino as a skeptical American security officer; and Marcel Hillaire as the French police inspector trying to unravel the terrorists plans. It's all very silly, though played very sincerely by most of the cast, and none of the plot described is less plausible than the notion that Glenn Ford and Erin Gray could ignore the 36-year difference in their ages. Evening in Byzantium was originally shown in August of 1978 as part of the syndicated Operation Prime Time programming series, intended to compete with the three networks. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The still-unsolved Black Dahlia murder case, fictionalized in the 1981 theatrical feature True Confessions, is handled on a more factual level in this made-for-TV movie. Lucie Arnaz plays Elizabeth Short, an aspiring starlet of questionable morals, who in 1947 was murdered by person or persons unknown. What made the case particularly unsettling was the fact that Elizabeth's body was sliced neatly in two, with every ounce of blood drained from her body. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. costars as the Los Angeles detective who ends up dedicating a lifetime to tracking down Elizabeth's killer. Who is the Black Dahlia? debuted March 1, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy stars in this frightening tale of life after death concerning an Indian mystic with strange supernatural powers. As the London fog rolls through the darkened streets, a vengeful mystic uses his powers to raise women from their eternal slumber. Upon assembling a small army of female zombies, the powerful madman sends them out into the streets to seek vengeance against those who wronged him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this exploitative women's prison drama, the "birds" in "the big bird cage" are, clearly, women. With the help of an outside revolutionary, the girls of at a rural prison stage an escape attempt. They have little to lose, as the prison is a site of incredible decadence and brutality. Only two of the covey of beautiful young women prisoners survive the attempt. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Jack Hill directed this alternately brutal and campy look at desperate women behind bars. An American named Collier (Judy Brown) has been convicted of murder in the Philippines and is sentenced to a grim women's prison in the jungle, where a mysterious German woman, Miss Deitrich (Christiane Schmidtmer), is the warden, and her head guard, sadistic Lucian (Katheryn Loder), keeps her charges in line through intimidation and violence. Collier shares a cell with tough-talking bisexual prostitute Grear (Pam Grier), hard-boiled political prisoner Bodine (Pat Woodell), thick-skinned but good-humored Alcott (Roberta Collins), drug-addicted Harrad (Brooke Mills), and tight-lipped Ferina (Gina Stuart). Bodine's boyfriend is the leader of an underground revolutionary faction, and when she learns he and his comrades are in danger, she begins to plot an escape for herself and her cellmates, with travelling peddlers Harry (Sid Haig) and Fred (Jerry Frank) becoming her unwitting collaborators. Meanwhile, Lucian is stepping up her torture of the prisoners at the behest of a mysterious masked stranger, and Collier is determined to find out who is behind the systematic brutality. The Big Doll House was the first "Women In Prison" exploitation epic produced for Roger Corman's New World Pictures; it was a big hit on the dive-in and grind house circuit, and spawned dozens of imitations (which are still being produced today). By the way, that's Pam Grier singing the theme song! ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Assigned to assist in the defection of Anna Kerkoska (Julie Gregg), the daughter of a recently deceased IMF dictator, Phelps becomes aware that both he and Anna have been set up as "dead ducks" by the woman's government. With his usual professional aplomb, Phelps contacts his fellow IMF agents and concocts a sting operation that will hoist the villains on their own petard. But he hadn't counted on falling in love with the beautiful Anna. Written by John D.F. Black, "Decoy" first aired on November 7, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

European business tycoon Carl Vandaam (Alf Kjellin) hopes to recoup his lost fortune by building a hydrogen bomb and selling it to the highest bidder. The IMF's mission is to stop Vandaam in his tracks, a strategy that requires Rollin to pose as one of the potential buyers. The more dangerous aspect of the mission is to remove the plutonium from the completed bomb without blowing up everyone and everything in sight. "Doomsday" was written by Laurence Heath; the episode made its network broadcast debut on February 16, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paul Lynde takes over from the previous season's John Astin as Father Lundigan, a church psychologist whose own mental state is far from stable. Having finally recovered from his first encounter with "flying nun" Sr. Bertrille, Father Lundigan pays another visit to Convent San Tanco. His arrival coincides with a bizarre post-hypnotic suggestion, wherein Sr. Bertrille in the Reverend Mother have switched personalities! Written by Lee Erwin and Stan Dreben, "The Return of Father Lundigan" was originally telecast on October 17, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide